doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com True satin finsih on gunstock, how to?

The best way to get an even sheen that doesn't require rubbing with poly or spar is to spray it. Difficult to get a quality finish out of a rattle can, but there are a few tricks. First, spry only on a warm or hot day, or in a well heated interior space. Second, and most important, is to soak the spray can in a tub of HOT water (I try to use 185-200+F) for quite a while before you spray. The heat reduces the viscosity of the finish, improves atomization by increasing the internal pressure of the can, and causes the solvents to flash off just a little more quickly when it hits the surface. You would be better off mixing your own finish and applying with a small compressor and a detail gun. The detail gun gives you much more control over pattern and fluid, and mixing your own allows you to tweak the solvent mix to suit material and spray conditions.

Standard practice in furniture finishing is to use clear gloss material (whether varnish, spar or poly) for all of the coats except the final coat of satin. That gives you the satin finish you want, without muddying the wood's figure any more than necessary.

When doing an oil finish, I use a high build method that leaves a skin of oil on the wood. Every few coats, I rub down with 800 W&D until I reach bare wood. After about 20 coats and some 3-4 rub downs I have a fully filled grain but a gloss finish.
I then use pumice to remove all the surface oil, still leaving the grain filled.
Providing the build up of surface oil has been removed fully on each rub down, the pumice will cut down to the wood and leave you a perfect satin finish, which in my experience does not wear glossy unless further coats of oil are applied.
Hard work but then good stock finishing is never quick nor easy.

By the way, I don't think Pumice is the same as Rottenstone which is much finer and not much use for anything that putting a very fine matt on the surface. It won't cut back oil build up.

Hi Again:

I have always heated my rattle cans before I use them. I have sprayed on hot wood and this led to a finish that did not flow out well before setting up on the surface. I did have a fear that perhaps the rattle can in 195 degree water could risk the chance that the can may explode. It has never happened but I have no idea as to how much pressure is produced when the can is heated. I have never heated the can to a point where I could not hold it in my bare hand.

I did 26 coats with sanding down with 400 W&D used with water between coats to fill the grain but that was not the answer. The grain was filled but at a coat a day at best, it was not practical for me to spend that much time on the stock. I can not finish a stock in the house due to dust and the stock risked damage taking it outside for each application.

The heck of it is that if I wanted a gloss finish, that would be easy! Lol

I am having a difficult time getting the varnish to dry in this high humidity. What are your thoughts about adding some Japan Drier to the finish to get it to dry a bit faster?

Oh yes! Rub the finish with a finger or heel of your hand until it gets warm is a laugh! Look at the surface after one does this. It is far from smooth! Lol

I tried a true rubbed linseed oil finish back in the 50's. The only thing that changed was that the heels of my hands were yellow and tanned like leather. Lol I was supposed to rub one coat of linseed oil until it got warm with the heels of my hands a coat a day for 30 days. After 30 days and 30 coats of oil, I had a sticky mess!!!!

I did get a very thick but smooth coat of varnish on a stock by using a 1" brush. It was very thick even and glossy! I started to rub it down with Pumice, but all that did was make the finish smooth.

For a hunting gun that takes a large amount of abuse, I found that poly was the only thing thet would hold up for one season. Tru Oil was a joke on a hunting gun! The gun still looks good.

Be well my friends,

Franch

Do it.

Do not use any spar or poly that has a "green" or "enviro friendly" label on it. They are all crap. Read the label and buy the highest VOC you can find, smuggle, or mix yourself. Usually, anything above 550 gm/liter should give good results. The lower the VOC, the worse the results.

I've had good luck with artist's linseed oil, turpentine and alkanet stain. also, if you just want a simple to apply satin finish, you can use Minwax wipe-on poly. I've also added a little of that to linseed oil. Very easy to apply and to my eyes looks pretty good as well as being durable. I've also used the linseed mix and then applied a final wipe-on satin finish Minwax.

Then why are polyurethane products so widely used in the auto industry? Poly finishes if applied properly don't craze due to weather or temperature changes and sheet steel in a whole lot more elastic at extreme temperatures than wood. I consider the ability for a finish that is tough enough to ward off dings, brier scratches and run ins with barbed wire fences (hardness) as a virtue not a drawback for field guns.

Gentlelmen; I have been refinishing/finishing for 31 years now. I sprayed the satin two part epoxy finish on all Kimber rifles (June 81-July 87). I have owned my own business since 1990 and have use many different finishes. The question originally was, I believe, is there a satin finish that stays satin. Yes, the poly finish used by Browning stays satin. ALL other finishes will start to show gloss with repeated rubbing of the face and hands. Look at an original Kimber stock that has NOT been refinished and you will see the grip of the stock and the face side of the buttstock will be glossy or is starting to turn to gloss. As a matter of fact....I use a satin finish rattle can for some of my finishing. Sanding it down with 600/1200 after the final coats and then polising up with Brownell's rubbing compounds.... the gloss finish rivals any Weatherby made.

After trying virtually every finish under the sun, from shellac to the latest wonders of modern chemistry, I settled on a modified polyurethane finish. It gives me the durability I'm looking for and by adjusting the finishing technique to the job at hand I can produce anything from a thin satin to a high gloss. I like the fact that I can have a reasonably thin finish that looks for all the world like oil with much improved durability. The finish on this Flues restock is poly, believe it or not!

sorry for misposting - I missed that all-important bit 'without rubbing'

@twicebarrel
boiled linseed oil is ok, but I prefer to use a CCL Gunstock Hand Rubbing Kit - gives a better colour and also has a hardening agent for the oil which you can use or leave out - I find it works better with the hardening agent in the last few applications of the stuff.
(it works for me- this is MY personal preference; others might have different likes & dislikes - I don't want to start a finishing oil war here 'smile')

The end result depends a lot on what kind/type/age/state of wood you are starting off with and also the amount of preparation work you put in.
I use 800, 1200 and lastly 1600 fine sandpaper - the last few 'sandings' with a drop of oil.
I don't use steel wool!
then I start with the Hand rubbing Kit - a few more 1600 sanding in between applications!
And then, about a week later, I get to the 'Rotten Stone' treatment as described earlier.

re 'ending up with a beautiful high gloss finish'
(IMHO the steel wool might have something to do with it -
whenever I tried Steel wool it ended up 'glossy')
I think it is the hardening agent in the hand rubbing oil which is the basis for getting the matte sheen.
It ends up with a shellack-like hard surface, which you take back to the wood by sanding!
I noticed that when lightly sanding with 1600 over the prepared stock to remove the top layer (before using Rotten Stone)it produced a very matte finish, albeit too much to leave it at that.
The Rotten Stone then does the finishing job.

I try to show some pictures of a few gunstocks I did in this way over the years.
The camera Flash shows the wood to be much shinier than it actually is!!

Regards
Gunter